Issue 1 The Revengencers Beginning of the End
by SplinterCell06
Summary: With the world in ruins from the battle between Earth's greatest heroes and villains, Batman has a plan to change the course of history and aid mankind in the fight against the planet's true threat: Brainiac.


"Our every tactic failed. Brainiac came to Earth to destroy it, and he was winning. Then, a dying version of one of Earth's greatest villains brought us a weapon from the future stolen from Brainiac himself. New heroes to withstand Brainiac and new villains to exploit the madness. I will train these heroes to fight the sick chaos of the Joker and the evils that face us all. The battle has only begun..." - Batman

**1:03 A.M. East End Dockside Warehouse, Gotham City**

The moonlight barely penetrated the darkness within the old and abandoned fishing supply station, just down the street from the Cape Carmine Lighthouse. The alleyways outside were silent, save for the whispers of past atrocities committed by the city's underworld. Dark red stains could be seen, if one looked close enough, and if one listened real hard phantom gunshots echoed softly as warning to those who would trespass on these closed grounds. Inside the warehouse, if you went through the backside you wouldn't see or hear anything yet; as you made your way further down the narrow corridor filled with ashes and torn apart wood splintered from many years of neglect and one fire. Taking a left at the doorway at the end of the hallway, you would see a collapsed ceiling just beyond a fragile staircase, just barely able to support the weight of one man. Murmuring now, you would be able to determine that this supply station is not as deserted as one would have you believe, there was definitely a conversation going on further down in the belly of the beast. As we descend downwards we hear what sounds like metal pipe hitting a human skull, followed by a sharp cry of agony from the unlucky soul who happened to wander into this desolate neighborhood.

The war had changed many things all over the city, all over the world. When Brainiac first emerged into Earth's skies, for three whole days nothing happened. It was if that whole time he was determining if our planet was even worth digital assimilation. Gotham City, a city that was corrupt in every level of its infrastructure that crime ran rampant and powerful criminals preyed on the naïve innocent who chose to get involved with them, now lied in complete ruins. Much of the city has been leveled due to Brainiac's massive invasion and despite heavy resistance from local police, the military, and even the protectors of this world known as the Justice League, Earth fell. Brainiac had even destroyed most, if not all of what remains of the Justice League of America by creating a diversion which drove many of the most passionate heroes and evil villains to turn on each other and power struggle emerged to see who could claim the right to survive in a world created in Brainiac's own image. Much of Earth would not be able to be recognized by the dead if they were to see things as they are now, since Brainiac had created constructs of his own technology into our world that has reshaped much of Earth's terrain into massive alien technology which bred the harvesters. Brainiac's harvesters would seek out and capture any and all surviving citizens of of the planet in order to digitize their essence and absorb their knowledge within himself. Gotham City was such a location as the entire sewer network has been replaced by subterranean tunnels where many of Brainiac's drones wandered about on patrols looking for hideaways.

This location at the abandoned fishing supply station was such a shelter from the outside influence of Brainiac, deemed useless information but it would only be a matter of time before the drones marched on lead by their heralds, to destroy the expendable data. No one place was ever safe for long as Brainiac's army marched on and assimilated everyone and every single piece of technology. A city as corrupt and sinister as Gotham City, however, there was always a price for everything and that included the value of human life being used to coerce civilians into turning to the criminal underworld for protection since there was no longer a dark knight anymore to watch out for these poor souls.

As we journeyed downwards on the dilapidated staircase the screams got louder as the man continued to be assaulted, followed by harsh laughter that seemed almost an inhuman cackle that got more amused with each loud _thwack_ as the victim's skull was being pummeled by a blunt object. Proceeding further down the dark corridor that ended only with small dim light coming from the room beyond which opened up into a large underground pool where the sharks were kept. Over the pool was a small indoor pier that was used to feed the ocean predators their meat from above. Tied to a steel chair which teetered perilously close to the edge of the pier, was a man dressed in green leisure suit with a yellow bow tie, white shirt. His clothes were of course filthy now from the beating, the top of his brown hair was reddened with dark and crusted blood with fresh streams running down the left side of his face. Panting and trying to catch every bit of precious oxygen into his breath in order to get ready for the next assault. Looking solemnly down at the pipe he smoked which fell to the floor as he was accosted by crazy looking thugs dressed like large clowns.

"What the hell do you want with me?" Asked the man. He looked up and gazed past his tormentors to look into the darkness of the rest of the aquarium where fish here were kept in plentiful supplies when it was up and running many years ago. A giggle came from within the black and it made the man's skin crawl as he knew all too well who was behind this abduction.

"Nuh uh, doctor, there's no spoilers here. Is it enough that I just enjoy seeing some suffering every now and again?" Came the reply. "But would you please state for the record that you are indeed, William Magnus of Magnus Labs?"

"I am." Magnus replied.

William Magnus, little is known of his own origin, perhaps because his work was so detailed and important that the government deemed him a heavy risk factor so they sealed all his records since birth. Doctor William Magnus is the foremost authority on theoretical mathematics, mechanical engineering, and particle physics. It was through this line of work that he was able to create a group of robots known worldwide as the Metal Men. Of course the government heard of such an experiment and wanted to use the idea of the Metal Men in order to create soulless smart weapons to use for the Department of Defense, an offer that Magnus rejects immediately. The Metal Men were designed with a device called the responsometer, which was to be the "artificial soul" for robots which just so happened to evoke personalities and behaviors to these robots based on the materials they were designed from. Dr. Magnus founded Magnus Labs, and with some additional funding thanks to Wayne Enterprises it soared into a booming business in the world of technological and physical science.

It is with this funding and resources that Dr. Magnus was able to finally construct a temporal displacement chamber inside Gotham, this would allow for travel backwards on the universal time line in order to counter the Brainiac invasion at a much earlier point in history. Magnus had hoped the Justice League would have survived the war against the alien threat but now it seemed like it all came down to him and on his shoulders, to go back in time to warn the heroes and villains of their inevitable fate unless they do something soon to prevent the attack on Earth.

As for what this criminal mastermind, that has him tied to a smelly basement underneath an old fishery, wants with him and his displacement chamber would probably take decades more to calculate a reasonable hypothesis. That maniacal criminal was known only as the Joker in Gotham.

The Joker has had a long and bloody history battling Gotham's protector, known only as the Batman. He has caused much destruction and death onto this city's streets even more so than Brainiac if that were humanly possible. The origins of this violent criminal is still unknown and some psychiatrists even have to wonder if the Joker even knows himself anymore. It's like an ordinary man suddenly became lost within his own Pandora's box and succumbed to the darkest parts of his own madness; which created the deathly pale bleach skin, the horrid and shaggy bright green hair, the sinister red lips that stretched beyond his dimples into a ghastly, never ending grin. More recently after the battle against the Justice League and the Society, in the heart of Metropolis, the Joker lost an important ally to him. Harley Quinn, once known as the psychiatric intern at Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane. Their love affair was sordid and twisted much like he liked everything else to be, she was killed in a massive explosion set off by Black Adam who with a single cry, decimated what remained of Metropolis in the largest lightning strike the world has ever known. This explosion also killed the small remnant of the Justice League and the world's villains.

The sound of wheels easing forward by hand, Magnus started to see the Joker emerge from the darkness and into the small light which hung from a ceiling bulb that was low on power, flickering every so often. Bound to a wheelchair since the explosion, the Joker's normally nicely pressed purple suit was covered in dirt and soot from that battle. His bleach white skin was slightly blackened as well, though his red lipstick smile still gave him the look of a serious threat. If there was one thing true to be said about the Joker, is that looks can be deceiving.

"Let's cut to the chase, doc, you got something I want and well I don't have anything you want but if you'd rather not go for a cold swim with Goldie down there, you'll answer me straightaway." The Joker said sternly, just as a white fin broke the surface of the pool below as it circled around underwater waiting for its meal. On either side of the clown prince of crime were his two oppositely dressed clown goons Lefty and Righty, blue and white clothing respectively but both had white make up and a bright red clown nose that honked when pressed. Magnus stared back at the Joker, his face was covered in sweat and he did not want to die here of all places.

"I don't know what it is you even want, Joker. I'm just a robotics engineer so what could you possibly want with me? A giant sized robot to trample over a city that is already destroyed?" Magnus replied irritated that the Joker would even try something like this on someone like him for seemingly no real reason.

"Nothing so fancy I assure you my good man, I just want to find that nice little time machine thingy you have lying around in this city somewhere. So I can return it to its rightful owner of course, by that I mean me obviously." Joker smiled as he spoke, hideous and gruesome. Magnus grimaced with the thought of two Jokers alive in the past and causing complete devastation and mayhem. "Have you ever lost someone you cared about, doc? Sure you kicked her around a bit, smacked her repeatedly with a squash racket, even set off explosions that nearly killed her after having fibbed that she had just enough time to plant the bomb and get out. But deep down you always knew that she was the reason that made you keep on keeping on, am I right? I lost a loved one recently, Willy, and you have to know how saddened I am. When I'm sad I frown. When I frown, I WRINKLE!" The Joker's last few words in the sentence was screamed at the top of his lungs followed by a long burst of laughter that no human could hope to emulate or even find slightly amusing, it literally made every hair on your neck stand straight up. Magnus recoiled in disgust at the Joker's own disregard for human life even someone that he seemed to maybe care for in his own way. "Enough of this silly emotional dilly dally and let's get down to brass tacks here. I. Want. My. Time machine."

The Joker's bright green eyes, still visible from where Magnus sat, seemed to burn into his own soul as if feed off his discomfort in order to give the Joker another hysterical fit.

"Look I don't know where it is anymore okay? It was transported from my lab, dismantled piece by piece, I assumed it was stolen myself. I do not know where it's at." Magnus replied in all honesty. Truth be told he really did have no idea where the temporal displacement chamber was taken, it's huge and would had to have been disassembled in order for it to be carried out and the getaway vehicle would have to be almost as large as a truck's trailer. The Joker made an uninterested yawn as Magnus spoke and motioned for Lefty to strike him again.

Subtle but glass could be heard being stepped on foot to heel, as if someone was skulking around inside this burnt and ruined warehouse. The Joker glanced in the direction of the hallway just outside behind him.

"Just when you think you can't have a moment of peace and quiet, some sneaky do-gooder comes along to volunteer to get his head scalped. Righty, check it and please don't bother going easy on him it's probably some down-on-his-luck old timer cop that survived somehow." Righty nodded in compliance, holding his AK-47 at his side which he stole from a downed soldier, he proceeded to patrol the corridor outside the aquarium and disappeared from everyone's line of sight into the darkness.

Magnus began to get more nervous now, it could be the Brainiac drones and their herald.

"It could be Brainiac's robots, Joker. We should probably get out of here while we still can." Magnus said hoping to buy himself some time by having the Joker transport him out of here to some other location to continue the interrogation, futile as it is.

"Nonsense, I have my sources and there's not one of those mobile trash cans for at least three kilometers. But you only have to worry about one thing, doc," the Joker said as he wheeled himself forward to the point of bumping into Magnus's own chair enough to make it bobble back a little before resting forward again, threatening to go over the side and off the pier. "How long can you hold your breath before you start to thrash about like an appetizing shrimp in the water?" Joker's white and red grin widened as he wheeled forward again this time forcing Magnus and his chair to tip back more at an angle.

There was the sound of a muffled cry, followed by the unmistakable sound of the butt of a rifle smacking a human skull. Lefty turned to look at the Joker in surprise, he was started to shake.

"Uh boss? That don't sound like no old cop t'me." He said, his voice trembling. The Joker gritted his teeth in frustration and rolled away from Magnus, who once again rested safe for now on the edge of the pier. Wheeling his way up to Lefty, the Joker looked up at the big dumb thug.

"You listen here you clueless worm, I know what I am talking about. It's not the Bat because I myself watched him die in Metropolis. Someone else has decided to play hero, now go a-" The Joker was cut off mid sentence as the sound of a taser going off echoed throughout the small aquarium, and a cord line whipped around Lefty's body sending him convulsing to the ground before it uncoiled and headed back into the darkness of the hallway where it came. Lefty's breathing was shallow, as he was out cold, but he'll live. The Joker stared at Lefty's body dumbfounded and amused, he looked on to see who would emerge from the darkness.

Black boots stepped out into the light before revealing a man dressed in all black military grade Kevlar, the Wayne Tech logo showed on his chest indicating he was one of the soldiers recruited from the military by Wayne Enterprises to help fight off Brainiac with new non-lethal weapons designed mostly by Lucius Fox, director of Applied Sciences within the company. His face was covered by a dark balaclava mask, where the eyes would be, a pair of tri-goggles with green lenses used probably for night vision, stared back at the Joker.

"And just who the hell are you supposed to be, big scary Wayne man?" Asked the Joker as he scoffed and rolled his eyes at the sight of the intruder. The soldier stood there silently, not answering. "Am I supposed to be intimidated by you, oh you big scary Wayne man, whatever will I do?" The Joker placed both white gloved hands of his to both sides of his face in mock concern. "Foolish of you to come in here alone, I might be useless in certain muscles below. But like I always say, it's not the size of the muscle it's where you get to put it."

With that the Joker burst into a fit of laughter as he pressed a knob on his left arm rest, a half second later a jet of flames came roaring out of the wheelchair's arm rest/gun barrel. The Wayne Tech soldier dived for cover among a stack of old and rusted drum cans, as the fire lit up the whole aquarium and startling Magnus, his eyes going wide in terror. From behind the drums came a burst of light and it sailed directly to the floor in front of the Joker before detonating in blinding white light and fire that rocked the Joker to the side hard enough for his chair to fall over and him struggling to get out from underneath it.

Gasping, his body not used to this kind of stress again as he tried to claw his way from his chair. Footsteps came closer, as the soldier was approaching the Joker now but still maintained his distance as he stared down at what was left of the clown prince of crime.

"You have any idea who you just ticked off, and I'm a forgiving man, but if there is one thing I will not tolerate it's getting my ass kicked by some goody-goody security guard who doesn't even have the courtesy to introduce himself!" Screamed Joker, spitting with each anger driven enunciation. "Who the hell are you with? Your company has been obliterated by a murderous alien!" The Joker yelled.

"He's with me." Came a voice that made the Joker's eyes turn from anger to pleased as he was hoisted up by his suit collar to face a man he long thought dead.

His entire body was covered in an armor that has taken heavy damage, the bat symbol on his gray armored chest plate was chipped, the cape behind him was tattered and ripped, his face was covered by a metal alloy that protected him from direct hits with artillery it was shaped like that all too familiar cowl with short pointy ears on either side. The white eyes stared at Joker and the mouth was twisted into bitter resentment as the Batman gritted his teeth.

"Heh, oh right, that makes much more sense now." The Joker said with a smile and he even waved at the badly damaged dark knight. "So we're cool now right? I mean you survived a direct missile attack by me, and lived after Black Adam blew Metropolis to hell. Friends again?" Joker's eyes widened in and a made cheerful puppy dog-like expression on his face as he smiled at the Batman, who whirled around and threw him down to the wooden floor of the pier. Batman nodded to the Wayne Tech soldier, who immediately went to to free Dr. William Magnus from his binds that kept him to the chair. "Hey! I was talking to him first, if playground rules aren't in effect this is anarchy ya know." The Joker protested as Magnus was freed. Magnus then joined the soldier as they both went to stand behind the armored dark knight.

"Why Joker? What do you want with a doctor like Magnus?" Asked Batman. The Joker's expression turned into that of a brooding and anguishing depression, his smile faded as his eyes went off into the distance before speaking.

"She was the one, Bats. The one that got away, or in my case, the one that got blown away." He paused for an impulsive giggle.

"You created her, Joker. Destroyed her entire adult life in one night, while she was an intern at Arkham." Batman retorted in disgust at the maniac's foul mouth.

"You say destroyed, I say courting. I always did have a way with the ladies." The Joker said with an attempt at a charming grin, and he winked at Batman. In a blur of movement, Batman lifted the Joker up again by his collar and threw him again into the stacks of drums which clattered and rolled away loudly as the Joker groaned in pain from both his legs being stressed and the Batman's assault. Batman then stepped over and set up the wheelchair upright and glared back at the Joker who looked at him curiously.

"I can't take you anywhere, there is nothing left in this world to hold you bound and shackled like the animal you are. You have Brainiac to thank for that." Batman said, anger seething through clenched teeth. Sitting up now, legs outstretched the Joker folded his arms across his chest and scoffed.

"I'll be sure to send him a fruit basket." He muttered back in a bitter response.

With that, Batman rolled the wheelchair to face the tank ahead and the Joker's eyes widened in desperation.

"What are doing, Batsy?" He asked in a rapid fire speech now as he was well aware of what the dark knight had in mind. "You wouldn't do that to a cripple would you Batman? I mean common I know I can be a little eccentric sometimes, but I am who I am and we both know I can't fight that or I could have been cured eons ago. You know what it's like to be solely what you are, you might be a brooding royal pain in my ass but you're no bully."

"Wrong." Batman pushed the wheelchair forward so fast it flew right over the side edge of the pier taking the other chair with it and it quickly sank to the bottom of the shark tank.

"No!" Joker cried out as he watched his only means of mobility join the shark inside.

When the Joker had fully processed what the Batman had just done he looked up to stare into the soulless wretch that was the dark knight only to see that the three men had vanished, leaving him alone in the dark save for the tiny light that illuminated the area of the pier, and it too finally went out.

**3:00A.M. an undisclosed location underneath Gotham City**

A was simply like being inside an empty vault, the walls were inches thick with solid cold steel. It was a single room, about the size of a football field and it was the only thing probably not scathed at all by Brainiac's invasion as there were no interior damage to the structure. In the northern most section of the vault was a network of computers which were linked to a satellite orbiting the Earth in stealth, somehow and for whatever reason Brainiac ignored it entirely. This satellite routed all sorts of data below from communications to real-time surveillance information all over the world, and it was this data that Batman studied for the best possible courses of action in order to take on Brainiac and his forces.

The Wayne Tech soldier stood behind his mentor, arms resting behind his back at ease as he watched Batman stand while interfacing with the computer system with various keystrokes. He had come to respect the Batman's tenacity as a fighter in the name of justice as well as his ability to survive just about anything against all odd, the destruction of Metropolis for instance. He has a name but he accepted his role in the Wayne Tech Defense Force and he knew the risks it came with since it was designed to battle a technological alien conqueror. His primary role in the war was tactical infiltration and sabotage, each WTDF soldier worked alone or maybe in pairs but that was it. They were splinter cells who were typically only in direct contact with either Batman or his tech adviser, Oracle, out in the field. So he only became known as Splinter Cell, possibly to prevent the dark knight from getting too attached to his agents; but he even admitted once a few days ago that sometimes he questions his decision as Bruce Wayne for taking Wayne Enterprises in a new direction in order to combat Brainiac in conjunction with the Justice League and various law enforcement and military branches.

He was the only operative of the WTDF to have been taken into Batman's complete trust and so he revealed himself to be Bruce Wayne, the playboy billionaire of Wayne Enterprises himself. As much as the revelation was enlightening, in a way Splinter Cell wasn't really shocked to have learned this since he had even begun his own speculations and given Wayne's family history it made sense. The Batman lost all his friends in the war against the villains and in the aftermath, after Brainiac had revealed himself to be the true threat to Earth's existence. On the counter top where the multitude of monitors were displaying various locations, in grainy images due to some disturbance thanks to Brainiac's continued assimilation of Earth, rested several small picture frames. The pictures were of Superman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Hal Jordan, and Catwoman; these heroes were slain in the final battle at the heart of Metropolis. With Superman's own arch nemesis Lex Luthor being directly responsible for the deaths of Clark Kent and Princess Diana of Themyscira, Superman and Wonder Woman respectively. Luthor disappeared after the battle as the supposed last son of Earth as Brainiac emerged, possibly to board one of Brainiac's harvester ships in order to sabotage it or possibly use Brainiac's technology for his own selfish gains.

Splinter Cell continued to watch on as Batman worked feverishly, comparing his own notes which were on a separate monitor to the notes provided by Dr. William Magnus, who was just pacing around the vault on edge since his ordeal with the Joker.

In the center of the massive vault chamber was a large circular pad on the floor with three pillars attached to the device in a triangular pattern, this was was the temporal displacement device that Batman and Splinter Cell manage to grab from Magnus Labs in what remains of Star City. It was this device that Batman was determined or obsessed with activating in order to go back in time, and stop Brainiac in a preemptive strike that will end the alien's invasion before it even begins.

"What if this doesn't work?" Splinter Cell asked, having spoke up for the first time all night long.

"It will work." Replied Batman without missing a beat as he continued to run simulation after simulation via complex calculations and algorithms that scrolled across the many glowing monitors in front of him.

"Not to second guess you or anything but this is a million to one shot here. How can you be so sure this will even operate the way it's supposed to?" Splinter Cell was concerned that this could have all been for nothing this evening. It was then that Magnus spoke up.

"It should be fine but I am concerned about your calculations Batman. They seem to be off by a matter of hours. It doesn't look like you're aiming for weeks before Brainiac's arrival, but hours after." He pointed out, his hand rubbing the back of his head wincing from his injuries.

"Exactly." Came the terse response from the dark knight.

"I take it you have some kind of plan then," said Splinter Cell as he was getting more interested now. "Care to share with the rest of the class?" The sound of keys being tapped over and over again suddenly ceased as Batman turned to face his splinter cell operative. The expression beneath his damaged, armored cowl was grim but he thought he could see some sort of hope in the hero's face.

"I do have a plan. It's you." Batman said firmly. Splinter Cell raised his eyebrows in surprise and stared blankly at the dark knight to take in what he just said.

"You're asking me to go back in time in order to take on Brainiac alone, without the support of the defense force?" He asked. Batman just nodded and walked past his agent in a hurried stride as he went to work along with Magnus who instinctively began to assist in the wiring hookups to the temporal device. Knowing that he was trained as a soldier to do what was right and required by him, he had made the choice to defend the Earth from Brainiac alongside the Justice League, present and now past. If the Batman would trust a splinter cell with this plan then he must know what he's talking about.

"It's not like you to not inform me of what I'm going to be doing exactly. I can't jump inside that thing and hope for the best." Cell stated, he folded his arms across his chest and watched as the two men put together the rest of the displacement device. After about an hour, it was finally finished, primitive looking no doubt possibly even archaic in terms of technology goes, but it was the best they could do with the parts they had. Batman was only able to salvage so much from his cave underneath the flattened ruins of Wayne Manor.

Batman turned to face Splinter Cell directly and after about a minute he sighed, it was mission time, and this was probably going to be his final assignment given to him by anyone ever again.

"As you know that once Metropolis was destroyed in a final act of aggression by Black Adam, Lex Luthor vanished without a trace when Brainiac entered our atmosphere in a full scale assault on our planet. Putting aside that Luthor inconceivably killed Superman and Wonder Woman it was not the time to start another hopeless battle between us. Lex and I have been in contact for several months now as he has been searching for ways to defeat Brainiac, while I remained here on the surface to locate Dr. Magnus and see if he was still alive after the initial attack. With Magnus's theories on particle physics and temporal mathematics he was the likely candidate to construct for me a device, which you see here now. The plan is three fold, your first objective will be to get to the JLA Watchtower orbiting the planet and to do that you will require the assistance of Oracle, as she will lock onto your earpiece signal and transport you inside.

Once you have made contact with the Justice League my past self will no doubt be skeptical of your true purpose in that time line. You do not have to tell him anything because we don't want to risk damaging the chain of events anymore than we plan to do," Batman paused for a minute to reach into his utility belt and pulled out a small vial and handed it over to Splinter Cell who took it without hesitation. "Give this to my past self and he'll know what to do with it. It'll take time but he'll work with Wayne Tech to get that sample mass produced."

"What is it?" Asked Splinter Cell, looking back at Batman.

"A counter swarm of nanobots designed to keep the exobytes in people's system in check, prevent them from having deadly and adverse effects on the body or mind." He replied.

"Exobytes?" Now he was slightly worried.

"Lex Luthor found us a fighting chance against the Brainiac invasion by stealing some of his own technology from one of his vessels. He'll be joining me here soon to send his own agent, Fracture, to make the villains in the past see the real threat and ignore fighting each other for the time being so we all can focus solely on Brainiac and stop him. I analyzed a sample Lex had sent me and I can say with ninety percent certainty that the exobytes are not dangerous. They'll enhance physical performance as well as mental and cognitive functions in order to better assist us in staying coordinated in the battle." The dark knight explained, just as the lights in the center of the circle from the device began to glow an eerie white which illuminated the entire underground shelter they were in. As it grew brighter a stream of orange energy emerged from the center almost the size of a large dust devil only with no wind.

"You're talking about infecting people with technology that we don't even understand, and yet you're willing to just go ahead and use it in order to win the war?" Splinter Cell asked surprised now and even a little angry at the audacity. "More so how can you be sure you can even trust Luthor?"

"I don't trust him. I can never forgive him either. This is our chance. We have to act now before everything plays out again like they had. After you give the sample to my past self you will tell the Justice League to send you into Area 51 far into the Nevada desert. Brainiac made the site one of his first priorities after his arrival, no doubt because it was this facility that helped him create his massive army thanks to CADMUS's research on kryptonite and its properties. If you quell the Brainiac assault there you'll delay total digitization of the Earth by several months."

The entire structure began to shake violently and despite the soundproofing of the walls, a loud and unmistakeable sound of humming can be heard which was a bad sign. Another violent tremor rocked the chamber some more, now there was a thunderous explosion which echoed in the vault. Brainiac's herald and drones have located them somehow and were digging their way with their deadly weapons down to them. Time was running out for a plan of action.

"Damn." Splinter Cell said as he looked around, right hand on his own waist belt to use his own devices against the herald and its drones.

"Time for you to go. They'll be here within minutes." Batman called out. He started to work again on the temporal displacement along with Magnus.

"This should work fine," Magnus confirmed, "just be sure to hurry up to the Watchtower when you arrive.

Batman placed a hand to the left side of his armored cowl which activated his communications device. "Lex, the Gotham vault has been compromised. Brainiac is tearing the place apart to get down to us. We'll have to relocate at the Fortress of Solitude in the Arctic, is Fracture still with you?" A pause as more seismic quakes continued to shake the foundations of the vault, nearly knocking everyone off balance that time. "Good. I'm sending you the new coordinates," he said as worked on a data pad linked to his left forearm. "I have another displacement chamber there, it's not as stable and will take work but I believe we can still use it to send Fracture through. Will rendezvous with you in about two days at the fortress. Batman out."

"I'll stay here with you to help you fight them off," said Splinter Cell ready to move quickly.

"No you'll proceed with your primary objective as planned. Luthor and myself can't risk traveling back as we can't rupture the time line. That's why we're sending you and Fracture, less chance of that happening and you each know what we're up against in order to help the Justice League and the Society."

A stream of energy carved a hole in the south end of the underground vault and just barely missed the temporal device as Brainiac's forces have arrived to capture and assimilate them all.

Batman turned to face them pulled out some miniature looking pellets from his belt, taking a quick aim he launched them towards the hole. The pellets sprouted bat-like wings as they soared through the room and detonated on impact sending scraps of alien metal into the room. Turning back to Splinter Cell he glared at him to get moving.

"Go. Now!" He yelled as the structure continued to weaken around them, and with a nod Splinter Cell walked into the center of the white pool of light and orange energy. He could already begin to feel a slight disorientation as the world in front of him began to fade from view leaving his own time behind in order to create a better future for the human race. He had ever confidence in Batman's abilities to survive the wave of Brainiac drones so he wasn't concerned for him, the only thing that bothered him in the back of his mind was the idea of Lex Luthor using technology he stole. Though if there was one thing Luthor was not, and that was selfless, despite the ultimate objective of destroying Braniac; Splinter Cell was more than certain that Luthor had his own plans and would no doubt stab them all in the back at some point.

As he began to emerge into the past, he could see that he was surrounded by Brainiac construct walls, and that somehow he was arriving inside a Brainiac base in the past. _Shit_, he thought to himself as he looked around as the alien world came to full view and he landed on his knees having made it back in time. Though not exactly where he hoped he'd be.

It was like the entire location was alive and thinking which made sense since everything that was digitized and stored became a part of Brainiac as a whole. The floor was made up of a haze of purple and white energy flowing freely throughout the ship as the walls were aligned with tubing that seemed to vibrate with each flash of orange light that ran through them.

"Intruder detected," came the emotionless and monotone voice of Brainiac himself. "All reinforcements head for the waste disposal bay to contain the humans, they must not be allowed to leave this vessel." So he was on a harvester ship, this just keeps getting better and better. _How the hell am I supposed to get out of here_?

After spotting the only doorway in this whole he began to slowly jog towards it quietly so as not to alert Brainiac to his presence inside. Odd that his entry didn't cause attention. Lifting up his goggles to see normally, he stealthily peeked around the corner to the right, then to the left and after determining that it was clear for him to move out; he chose to go right making his way down the construct corridor of the harvester ship. Placing his index finger to his right ear he thought he'd take a chance and try and get in touch with the one person who might know how to get out.

"Oracle, can you hear me?" He asked softly as continue to jog down the seemingly endless alien hallway.

"What the hell? Who is this?" Came the familiar voice of Barbara Gordon, once Batgirl now known to the JLA as Oracle. She used to be an excellent combatant against many of Gotham's well known villains along the Batman's side until one day the Joker escaped Arkham. He showed up at her father's house, Commissioner James Gordon of the GCDP, unannounced and fired a bullet through he stomach with a .44 magnum at close rage. The bullet passed through and shattered her spine paralyzing her for the rest of her life. With her extensive knowledge on computers and hacking talents, along with her skills in communications she became invaluable as Oracle, once again using her talents to help the Justice League fight evil. "I asked a question this is supposed to be a secure line. Who are you?" Oracle repeated herself and she sounded pissed.

"I don't have time to explain, suffice it to say Batman sent me. I'm on board a Brainiac harvester vessel and I need to know exactly where I am. Can you triangulate my coordinates?" Splinter Cell asked before cowering below a large box made out of a foreign metal as he seemed to enter a small chamber with a semi-large hole in the middle. It looked like a trash chute.

"I'll have Batman contact you soon, for your sake I hope you're telling the truth mister. Let's see here," she replied as she began mumbling to herself while she was working to get a fix on the transmission's origin.

"I don't believe it. You're located on one of the ships hovering over the East End in Gotham just north of the docks by Cape Carmine Lighthouse. But how did you-"

"I'll explain everything later. Sort of." He said quickly cutting her off. Disconnecting the link he took a quick scan around the area and determined it empty. If there was a way out he figured a trash chute was as good as any since another set of intruders seemed to be escaping as well according to Brainiac that way.

Jumping over the metal box he sprinted forward and stopped just short of the chute, shrugging as it looked like a slide more than a straight drop. With a deep breath he jumped down arms crossed over his chest as he slid down on his back. The narrow chute twisted and bended in so many directions as he could feel himself gaining speed during his descent, and suddenly he started to think this might be a very bad idea.

The chute finally opened outwards into a large and unorganized pile of scraps and metal, crying out in surprise he saw he was about to land on someone when he felt a blinding pain in his back as the two crashed hard into the metal mound. Quickly getting up onto his feet, dazed he turned and looked at who he landed on who also was quickly hopping to his feet.

He looked like a robot, his entire body consisted of a black and blue alloy that seemed unidentifiable to him at the moment. His arms and face were black in color and he had a very short marine cut black hair. A prominent "Z" flashed across his chest also blue and white in color. The man also wore a pair of dark visors over his eyes as he started dead pan at Splinter Cell.

"What the hell man?" He asked. "This Brainiac got you too huh?"

Splinter Cell could only nod in response but when the cyborg glanced behind him ever so subtly, he whirled around to face a woman clad in a bright armor but her skin was clearly not human. White with leopard spots all over and furry, short black hair covered part of her face as she held a strange looking rifle upwards aimed at him.

"Who are you with?" She asked.

"Does it look like I'm with Brainiac?" Splinter Cell asked, getting slightly annoyed now. The woman finally lowered her rifle and shrugged.

"Minx. That's my name. What's yours?" She asked staring back at him.

"I don't have one, I'm just a splinter cell operative." He answered.

"An operative for who?" Asked the cyborg behind him.

"Shouldn't we be focused on leaving? This place doesn't seem too hospitable." Splinter Cell shot back, getting impatient now.

"I'm Zicorahk, but you can call me Zic if you really want to." The cyborg said introducing himself.

"I don't." He said dismissively. Taking a look around Splinter Cell tried to survey the waste disposal level for some kind of exit. There had to be one somewhere.

"We've been looking for a way out of this shit hole but so far zip." Zic said as he pressed something on his left and right elbow, which ejected a holster from his arm that propelled 9mm firearms into both his hands.

"Brainiac knows you guys are down here, he's sent drones this way to dispatch you both." Splinter Cell said as he headed up a ramp towards what could pass for a door in this garbage level.

"We heard it but have yet to see any of them show up here," said Minx quickly. As if they were waiting for a cue, the door they were all standing next to opened to reveal a small army of humanoid looking Brainiac drones. Minx and Zic both raised their weapons and quickly opened fire as they backed up to keep them at a safe distance.

Several of their shots took down much of the front line of enemies as Splinter Cell leapt reaching for his own utility belt and pressed a button on a compact device attached to it. A few seconds later an electromagnetic shield encompassed the area with two feet diameter around him and he charged out into the corridor and leapt at one of the drones in a circular lunge kick that smashed the drones head off, sending the rest of its body collapsing onto the ground into spasms. Another drone managed to get behind him, he quickly drew out some pellets from his belt and dropped them generating a thick smoke to blind it. Using the diversion, Minx opened fire with a burst shot from her rifle that launched an electric ball of light towards the drone which sent it exploding, limbs went everywhere in the small hallway.

Zicorahk laid down a suppressing fire while dual wielding his two handguns, each shot landed directly at his intended targets which made the drones he hit fall the floor after their circuitry fried them from the inside out. Another wave seemed to appear as the smoke cleared and with another press on his device, Splinter Cell's shield burst outwards in a small EMP (electromagnetic pulse) detonation that toasted the remaining enemies.

Without waiting to see if they were okay, he began to walk off down the corridor towards the large doors at the end. Minx and Zic were still behind him, he could tell but they weren't saying a word as they stepped into a large observation deck overlooking a vast hangar bay filled to the ceiling with Brainiac's drones and heralds. Miniature harvester spider-like drones were also inside, their purpose to abduct humans.

Minx's eyes widened in horror at the sight of all the Brainiac activity below. Zic just shook his head as Splinter Cell activated his earpiece again.

"Oracle we have a large problem here."

"Look mister I-" She protested as he went on the channel again.

"Brainiac has a large full-scale invasion prepped and ready to go on this ship. My priority has changed so tell me the best way to take this thing out from the inside." He asked her. Minx and Zic shared a look of surprise as he spoke.

"So how are we supposed to get off this thing if we're going to blow ourselves up along with it?" Zic asked, demanding to know the plan.

"I have no idea," Oracle answered, "I suppose you could try to overload the ship's main gun which is located on the bottom of it. The weapon control center should be nearby where you are. Taking the gun out by destroying the control center for it could create an explosive feedback through it's primary cooling intakes, which would destroy the entire ship." She theorized.

"Good." He said and cut her off again. Splinter Cell started to run off for the next corridor when Minx called out behind him.

"You going to answer us? How are we going to leave if we blow the ship up with us on it?" She asked.

"Haven't though that far ahead yet." He replied still walking.

"Well I'm sold," commented Zic sarcastically. "And you plan on just waltzing right into the weapon room I suppose?"

"Yep."

"I at least like _that _attitude." Zic said with a grin and quickened his own pace so he was behind Splinter Cell with Minx holding up the rear.

"Contain the humans as they must not reach the primary weapon chamber." Brainiac's voice boomed over the ship's decks on every level. "Interference of Earth's assimilation will not be tolerated, dispose of the resistance and prep their remains for exobyte extraction."

Splinter Cell halted in his tracks and blinked, did he hear what he had just heard. Zic and Minx nearly bumped into his back as he stared into space lost in thought.

"What the hell man, why did you stop?" Zic asked quickly.

"Did he just say 'exobyte extraction'?" Splinter Cell asked.

"What of it?" Minx asked.

"Nothing. Forget it. Let's go," he said and continue down the alien corridor in a hastened pace, nearly running almost as fast any acrobat in the world. Together they went deeper into the bowels of the monster hovering over Gotham City like a plague. They encountered heavy defenses in the many construct hallways, Minx summoned up electrical energy from her own bare hands and unleashed a volley of lightning bolts onto the drones just as Zic opened fired with his pistols in a sweeping motion to cover any she may have missed, and just as Splinter Cell was about to be overwhelmed as he took on a mob of drones barehanded using only his shield for a defense; Zic tossed a grenade that stuck to the wall behind the mob. Splinter Cell ducked in time to let the electromagnetic pulse fry every single one of the drones and their damaged remains were strewn about on the surface of the floor.

"Nice." He said.

"Thanks." Zic replied with a wink to Minx, who rolled her eyes.

The three moved onwards as they finally reached the primary weapon chamber, which turned out to be a huge room with four power cells linked to each corner and a rather large army of Brainiac's forces. In the center of it all was a green colored drone, only this one was about the size of one of the heralds.

"Intruders have arrived, elimination protocols activated. Extraction sub-routines enabled. Defend the primary weapon." The drone spoke in its typical robotic sounding voice.

"I'll go for the power cells while you two keep them busy," Minx said. "I can fry these things in no time at all it seems."

"It seems? You don't know?" Asked Zic.

"Well I wasn't exactly born with the power of electricity coming from my body." She said with a shrug. "Something happened shortly after this Brainiac arrived and when I broke out I discovered I had these abilities." Minx said as she looked towards Zic and Splinter Cell, concern showed in her eyes as she wasn't sure why this was all happening.

"Enough of the chitchat let's toast this place and get the hell out of here." Splinter Cell said as he rushed straight for the Guardian drone, activating his electromagnetic shield and unleashing a volley of explosive gauss grenades at it. Zic provided support cover from behind as he used his own body to manufacture the ammunition into his pistols providing unlimited ammo for his weapons. The Guardian didn't seem to be fazed at all by the direct assault and many of the other drones were already surrounding them as they watched the Guardian attempt to dispatch the threat to the harvester vessel.

Minx proceeded to the southwest corner of the chamber and placed both hands on it and closed her eyes as if trying to summon anything she could to destroy the power node. Suddenly the air in the room began to drop in temperature as a large and dark cloud began to form over the power cell, thunder boomed from this localized cloud as it was filled with electrical energy before unleashing it all onto the node enough to throw Minx backwards from the blast, just as the power cell detonated into thousands of parts and pieces. "Holy shit!" She exclaimed in awe and disbelief that she had just done that.

With the destruction of that node the seemingly untouchable Guardian began to throw a fit as it looked like it was momentarily stunned by the loss in power from the weapon. Zic and Splinter Cell took advantage of the distraction, as Minx flew onto the next node to take it out. Zic pressed the "Z" on his chest and his body surged with a white energy, which to Splinter Cell's surprise began to recharge each and everyone of his equipment in his belt. Removing his own glove from his right hand he replaced it with another black glove that has a cord and nozzle on its palm, he connected the cord, which was retractable from his belt, and held out his palm which began to shower the Guardian in a mess of white foam. The Guardian's armor began to melt and wires were sparking to the point of setting on fire as the foam melted along with the armor.

"Damn." Zic said impressed as he continued to fire off his ammunition into the weakened armor.

A wide arc of energy passed over his and Splinter Cell's head which destroyed the northwest power node for the weapon, forcing the two men to duck quickly to avoid being fried in the crossfire.

"Sorry!" Minx called out.

"Da hell, woman! Get it under control!" Zic yelled back as he continued to fire his pistols into the Guardian.

Splinter Cell rushed to slam his right fist into the Guardian's chest but the drone grabbed him quickly and tossed him back towards Zic, the two men collided onto the floor with the Wayne Tech soldier on top. Splinter Cell quickly rolled away and back onto his feet. Zic hopped up as well and shook his head.

"Smooth," he said smugly. Splinter Cell just shot back a glare in retort.

"Power systems have fallen to 48% and decreasing, auxiliary power has been routed to the primary weapon to increase efficiency. All remaining reinforcements will evacuate the ship immediately and proceed with the ground assault." Brainiac's voice echoed throughout the chamber.

"Minx!" Splinter Cell called out, as he swung another gauss grenade at the Guardian to stun him and keep him occupied. The rest of the drones in the room began to leave the chamber as per Brainiac's new directive.

"I am going as fast as I can!" She screamed back, clearly agitated now. Using her rifle she began to fire off electrically charged grenades into the remaining nodes to get it done faster.

Their detonation was massive and it rocked the entire chamber, Splinter Cell and Zic stumbled onto their backs on the ground as the harvester ship violently shook from side to side. The Guardian drone began to seize out of control while shrieking inhumanly as it fried itself along with the foam vaporizing what was left of its interior wiring. It fell to the floor and broke apart into many pieces of scraps.

From outside one could see the alien ship, which looked like a triangle connected end on end by spear-like columns, and in the center of it was a large rod that had to be its primary weapon which was in the process of being uncoupled from the rest of the ship, with a final explosion the weapon was released from its stationary position and plummeted below into one of Gotham's skyscrapers which was shielded by a purple haze of energy that prevented entrance in a bottle-like form. Just as the rest of the ship burst into flames, as it began to tear itself apart under its own weight due to the detonation.

Back inside the primary weapon chamber, the three new heroes were struggling to maintain their balance as the room's door slammed down to seal them inside.

"Foolish humans, you have doomed yourselves. You will go down with this vessel. Do you think you have won? Do you think you can hide from the might of Brainiac? You are in error and therefore will be destroyed for your resistance. Life, an interesting concept yet ultimately flawed. Using technology stolen from your own future delays your inevitable assimilation, it is futile to fight against Brainiac. Your technology, meta-based knowledge, and magical secrets will be part of Brainiac, and the Earth will be mine." Brainiac's monotone voice rumbled into the collapsing chamber as the three were trapped in their hopelessly stranded.

"Now how do we get out of here?" Minx asked quickly, looking around in fear that this was it. Their first and final act of defiance against Brainiac. Zic tried to throw grenades and blast his way through the door but it was to no avail.

"Damn it!" He screamed in frustration.

Re-activating the communication to Oracle, Splinter Cell placed his finger on his right ear. "Oracle, can you hear me?" He asked.

"Thank God, I'm reading a large power surge on that harvester ship and it looks like the main gun went crashing into one of Brainiac's bottles below. Was that you guys?" She asked.

"Yes. How do we get out of here Oracle?" Splinter Cell said hastily.

"I'm locking onto all your exobyte data now and should be able to teleport you all directly into the Watchtower." She replied. "I hope you know what you're doing, I told Batman about you and was not happy that you breached our security using his own codes."

"I'll deal with that later, just get us the hell out of here now!" He cried out in bitter frustration as he waited for the teleportation.

"She can just do that? Bring us out of here?" Minx asked. Splinter Cell nodded and Zic just stood there waiting.

"She better hurry her ass up." Zic said. "I don't intend to get blown up in this damn alien ship before I've had a decent Mexican take-out meal."

"Sounds good." Splinter Cell replied. The ceiling of the chamber began to rip apart along with the rest of the ship revealing night skies akin to typical Gotham City atmosphere.

Then they were all surrounded in a white light which blinded them all.

When they brightness ceased they were standing in the Hall of Justice inside the JLA Watchtower. Splinter Cell, Zicorahk, and Minx stood across from Batman who was in his blue cape and cowl with a gray body suit and yellow utility belt. A giant black bat across his chest. His white eyes were narrowed as he glared at Splinter Cell and his group.

"Who are you?" Batman asked them all, expecting an immediate response.

"I'm Minx, and this cyborg here is Zicorahk," Minx began, "we were abducted by Brainiac after the sky exploded with something. I found Zic while escaping."

"Then we encountered this pain in the ass dude," Zic said nodding to Splinter Cell.

"You." Said Batman. "You were the one to use my own codes to access the JLA's communications with Oracle weren't you?"

"Yes." Splinter Cell replied. "We have a situation here, I was sent to give you this." He said reaching into his belt to grab the vial of gray liquid and handed it over for the Batman to take. After Batman grabbed it he placed it into his sample analyzer and examined the results on the table that encompassed the Hall of Justice.

"This is impossible, how could these even exist soon after the exobytes introduction to our atmosphere?" Batman asked.

Before Splinter Cell could reply he was cut off by a voice that sounded all too familiar for him. A voice he had no heard in so long, not since discovering Batman's injured body in Metropolis, where he had been left to die in Earth's future.

Lex Luthor emerged from the shadows of the hall and stepped up behind Batman, the changes to his meta-resistant armor were obvious that he linked his power systems with devices salvaged from Brainiac technology in order to give himself strength. Luthor's face was scarred from the future's war, he had to have his left eye replaced by a device which glowed orange along with parts of the power pack he had attached to the back of his armor. "Perhaps I can explain that." He said with an arrogant smile as he locked eyes with Splinter Cell, who glared back unpleasantly surprised. Minx and Zic just looked at each other confused as the room went silent and tensions rose, this was clearly just the beginning of the end.

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


End file.
